Madison House’s Creating Assets, Savings, and Hope (CASH) program works to train and coordinate student-volunteers to provide free tax preparation for low- and moderate-income community members…This year marks 15 years since the launch of the C’ville Tax Aid Coalition — a partnership including Madison House and the University of Virginia Community Credit Union that is coordinated by the United Way of Greater Charlottesville. Since its inception in 2007, the Coalition has generated over $35 million in direct economic impact for the Charlottesville area community.
As a first year at the University of Virginia (UVA), Chelsea Li (CLAS ‘20) wanted to soak up all the opportunities that the University had to offer. She found herself exploring new clubs and classes and was especially eager to be in the community. “In high school,” she said, “I felt as if I was missing a lot of the learning that happens outside the classroom.” This desire to stretch her curiosity across disciplines and interests, along with an intrinsic desire to uplift those around her, was what first brought Chelsea to Madison House.
The House has long been a place where students can come to find or rediscover themselves and their place within the community. This held true for Paige, who shared that “it gives me peace of mind knowing that I am a good swimmer but that's not what defines me. There's so much more to life, like helping others. My time at Madison House has allowed me to see that.”
Kruse, from Ridgeland, Mississippi, is a fourth-year student in the McIntire School of Commerce. She initially got involved in the program because of her prior experience in advocacy work.
“Ultimately, the goal of the program is for students to learn about environmental science through a native lens,” Kruse said. “Maelee Hearington, another UVA student, and I wrote the curriculum to focus on science, social activism and social justice. We also provide additional resources like workbooks, markers, easels and notebooks.”
On March 11, 2020, all Madison House in-person volunteering was suspended in an effort to slow the emergence of COVID-19. Shortly after, a Spring Action Team headed by Madison House student volunteers Simmy Bhatia, Caroline Hallowell, and Mikaela Rirchardson worked in coordination with Dr. Rose Cole, the Madison House Director of Community Engagement, to begin developing a virtual volunteering initiative called "Hoos Helping."
Madison House remains dedicated to slowing the spread of COVID-19 and protecting the health and safety of our student volunteers, staff, faculty, and Charlottesville community partners and neighbors. Our goal is to especially keep the Charlottesville community safe from harm. With this in mind, the Madison House building will be closed for the fall 2020 semester. The following guidelines have been put in place until further notice…
"We have players all over Virginia, all over the East Coast, in New York and Boston," he said. "We have people out on the West Coast, in Oregon and California and one player from England, so it has really kind of become a big thing."
Not only is the game bringing together family and friends but it also benefiting Charlottesville-area charities like Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry, Madison House and the Legal Aid Justice Center.
"There's so many great organizations already established in Charlottesville, we thought we could help them along and all those donations would go to a big cause," said White.
Volunteering is a great way to keep in touch with the U.Va. and Charlottesville communities and is especially needed during the pandemic. Organizations like Madison House and United Way of Greater Charlottesville provide great online resources for how to volunteer and help the community — plus they offer virtual programs to volunteer remotely.
